Jollibean Staff Allege Unpaid Salaries Amid Sudden Outlet Closures, Only 5 Shops Out Of 30 Still Operating

“We worked so hard and did not get paid so we were very emotional”

Speaking to CNA, past staff members from Jollibean also described how they arrived at work only to find that their outlets had been closed without any prior notice from the company.

"At first, we worked so hard and did not get paid so we were very emotional. Now I think, just forget it. I will just treat it as charity," said one such worker, who had yet to receive her wages for the last month of work. 

All eight current and present workers that CNA spoke to declined to be identified to not jeopardise any chance that they will be paid eventually. Some said they were continuing to work at Jollibean because they still hoped to get back what they were owed.

Of the eight local outlets presently listed on Jollibean's website, three are no longer in operation.

These outlets, located at Lavender MRT Station, Raffles Place MRT station and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital were shuttered as of Tuesday (Jul 8).

The stores at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Raffles Place MRT Station were boarded up, while the Lavender MRT Station branch had a notice tacked to the door stating that the premises had been repossessed by SMRT Trains from June 30.

In response to queries, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), a trade union affiliated to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said that Jollibean is a non-unionised company. 

"Affected workers can approach the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) to make an appointment for advisory services on employment disputes, an FDAWU spokesperson said in a statement issued to CNA on Wednesday (Jul 9).

CNA has reached out to TADM and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for comment. 

Workers owed salaries, CPF

A former employee who worked at the Pioneer MRT station outlet, which closed on Dec 27 last year, described how SMRT Trains had repossessed the premises when the team arrived for work, and its five staff members would lose their jobs that day. 

The ex-staff member said they were not given advanced notice or explanation for the abrupt termination.

Similarly, at the Lavender MRT outlet, the premises were locked up and a notice placed on the door informing customers of the repossession from Jun 30. 

A 68-year-old woman who had worked part-time at the Pioneer MRT outlet for the past five to six years recalled how she had arrived at work for her usual shift but was told to pack up immediately. 

"The moment I stepped through the door, my leader said 'today you don't need to work, you need to close shop'," she said in Mandarin in a phone interview. 

"She did not say why ... I called my co-workers to tell them that the store is closing and to come down and see it for the last time."

She said that the company still owed her salary for the last month of work, amounting to more than $1,000, along with three months of unpaid CPF.

"We waited and waited, until now, there is no news”

The affected staff members visited Jollibean's headquarters in Pasir Panjang over their unpaid salaries sometime in January or February, and were told that the money would be credited by the next month. 

They were also told that they would receive a letter of guarantee that they would be paid. 

"So we waited and waited, until now, July, there is no news," the 68-year-old woman said. 

"It's the first time I've encountered this kind of situation and I don't have experience in what to do," she said. 

Asked if she had considered lodging a report with the authorities, the woman said she was unwilling to go through the trouble.

"At first, we worked so hard and did not get paid so we were very emotional. Now I think, just forget it."

"I will just treat it as charity," said the woman wistfully.

A fellow part-timer, a 74-year-old woman who prepared food at the same store for more than a decade, was the only one from her branch to have approached TADM for help. 

While she was initially prepared to let the matter go, her son said otherwise. 

"He said that it's my hard-earned money, even if it's just $1,000, why don't you get it back?" she said. 

She and her son approached TADM, who worked out a scheme to have Jollibean pay the salary in monthly installments. 

"We went to the authorities in April, but now it is July and we have not received a cent," she said, adding that she felt helpless. 

"The authorities have intervened but the company is still dragging its feet, it's hopeless. And it's money earned from hard work, not just money you get from sitting around," she said.

Several workers said their salaries were usually credited by the seventh of each month, but one 49-year-old counter staff member said is still waiting to receive her salaries for May and June. She said she last checked her bank accounts on Tuesday. 

"We come from overseas to make a living. It doesn't matter if the work is hard or if we earn more or less, we just hope to be paid on time," the Chinese national said. 

"Without getting my pay, I have no mood to work," she said, adding that she needed money for basic necessities and rent, which was due in two days. 

An employee at a different outlet in central Singapore who had been employed by Jollibean for around three years said that her wages still came in regularly, but after a delay of more than a month.

The worker, who wanted to be known only by her name Mars, 40, said she was fine with the current situation. 

A co-worker at the same outlet said that the company had stopped paying its CPF contributions from last November, with the exception of March. 

When she asked her supervisor about the situation, she was told that it was not known when funds would be available.

Despite this, some Jollibean employees said they will continue working because they believe that their salaries will soon be paid and a new "boss" will be taking over in July. However, none of the staff members, including a manager, knew who this new employer was.

Downsizing exercise

Speaking to CNA, Jollibean's director Mr Shahrul Nazrin said the closure of the Pioneer MRT outlet was part of a downsizing exercise. 

He claimed that he was "resigning" and a new owner will be taking over the business, but declined to reveal the party's identity.

"We are resolving it with MOM, we are settling it by the end of this week. Everything is going to be resolved soon, there's a new capital injection with a new shareholder, so everything will be resolved financially," he said.

He added that parties were in the midst of completing the paperwork and are expected to settle payments by the end of this month. 

"The new owners [who are] taking over... they've been in the F&B business for more than 30 years so they know what they are doing. They are taking over and then they [are] expanding," he said. 

Based on public records, the only shareholder of Jollibean Foods is holding company Joybean Inc, which also lists Mr Shahrul Nazrin as its director.

Outside of Singapore, Jollibean has six outlets in Hong Kong and markets itself as a Singapore soymilk brand.

CNA has also reached out to Jollibean's listed contact on its website, but has not received a response.

Source: CNA/wt

Photos: CNA/Koh Wan Ting

The original version of this story first appeared in CNA.

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